Sheet-metal-working machine.



P. KRUSE.

SHEET METAL WORKING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 24, 1913A MM5 J Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

WITNE'SSES:

P. KRUSE.

SHEET METAL WORKING MAoExNE.

APPLICATION PIKLED FEB. 24, 1913.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913. z sHEETs-sHEET z.

E E /ZV/HNESSES: Wmv MM [NVENTR BETER USF, DF NW YURK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB. TO JE. W. BLlSS COMPANY, 0F BRUUKBYN, 'NEW YORK, d COB-BRATONOF WEST VJEBGINIA.

=SHEETMETALWOBKING MACHINE.

lSpecification of Letters Patent.

Applicaticn led February 24, 1913.

patenten nee. s, isis. Serial No. 750,347.

v.To all whom t may concern.'

Metal-lVorking Machines, of which the foly lowing isv a specification.

This invention relates to' sheet metal lworking machines and aims to provide certain improvements therein.

An improved hopper for containing sheets of metal to be fed to the machine, improved means for feeding sheets of metal one at a time from the hopper, and improved means for feeding the sheets of metal from one position to another through the machine, are provided by the present invention. Other improvements will hereinafter appear.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings.

rlhc invention has'been shown as incorporated in a machine for making can bodies.

' The invention may, however, be otherwise embodied and otherwise applied.

,ln said drawings-Figure l is a top plan view ofso much of a body making machine as is necessary to illustrate the invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the construction shown in F ig'. l, With the parts in section; Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a vertical sectional view and a top plan View of parts illustrating the improved feed; Fig. 5 is a side view of the hopper; Fig. 6 is an end view of the horn and its support; and Fig. 7 illustrates a detail of the horn.

ln said drawings the letter A designates a suitable table or bench forming the frame of the machine.

B `B are a plurality of feed bars/working in suitable guide-ways in the top face of the table A, preferably attached to a slide block or plece C, and adapted to be reciprocated by suitable means, as for instance .a train of links and levers h1, Mt* connected to a crank pin upon a disk l5 mounted upon a mam drive shaft D. The feed bars B B are provided with a plurality of feed fingers, certainor all of which, as for instance the fingers F, may be formed so as to take a positive hold u on or grip sheets of metal X with which they are broughtin contact. @Other feed fingers ,E1

may be provided if desired where the sheets of metal are fed to an idle position.

The grip fingers E (see Figs. 3 and 4C) preferably comprise two arms e e1 which are normally pressed together and which have a narrow slit or opening e2 at their forward ends adapted to admit the edge of a sheet of metal. The resilienc of the arms causes them to press upon an the sheet of metal. rll`he arms are slig tly spread apart by the entrance' of the sheet. The ends of the arms e el adjacent the slit e2 are referably rounded or beveled asat e3, to acilitate entrance of the sheet. A screw e5 is preferably provided for limiting the spreading apart of the arms e el to prevent breakage, as when a jam occurs and the grip lingers come into contact with two or more superposed sheets. The arms E are pivoted upon the feed bars B as at e and are adapted to be depressed, against the pressure of a spring e7, as they move rearwardly, being so depressed by the sheets of metal with which they come in Contact.

F1, F 2 and -F t designate a plurality of mechanisms `by which the sheets of metal are worked upon. ln the construction'illusf trated, the mechanism F1 is a notching mechanism for forming notches in the sides of the sheets of metal, the mechanism F2 is a Hanging mechanism, by which lianges or hooks are formed on the notched sides of the sheets, and FB is a body-form! ing mechanism comprising a horn Gr around which the sheets are bent and the ends interlocked and joined in well known manner. The function of the feed Inechanism is to feed the sheets of metal to an exact position with respect to these several mechanisms F1, F2 and F3 it being essential to the perfect formation of a can that the sheets be operated upon at precise points by the several mechanisms and that the ends of thesheets and the notches therein shall' properly match when wrapped around-the horn 'and the ends joined.

Sheets of metal are fed to the machine in any suitable manner (by hand if'desired) and are carried forward by the feed lingers upon successive reciprocations of the feed bars B B. As the feed fingers E move into engagement with a sheet of metal the edges of the sheet are gripped by the lingers and the sheet carried forward beyond stops H1,

H2 and H3 (see Figs. 3 and e) mounted upon a fixed part of the machine. As the feed lingers E move back they carry the sheet of metal -With them. When, however, the sheet of 'metal comes in contact with the stops it is stripped from the fingers E and comes to rest at a lined position determined by` the stops. rlhe stop H1 is herein shown as a gravity finger pivoted upon the sides of fixed portions of the notching mechanism F1 and operating to lift as a sheet of metal is pushed beneath the same, and to drop behind the sheet as soon as the sheet has pressed beyond them. The stops H2 and H3 may be pivoted in the frame of the machine and be pressed upwardly into operative position by springs 7L bearing against their undersides. The stops H2 and H3 are depressed by the sheets as they are pushed over them by the feed fingers, and rise to engage the rear edges of the sheet as soon as the sheet has passed beyond them. Strips 57 are preferably provided, which are adapted to bear upon the upper sides of the sheets X and engage them Withslight friction, suiiicient to enable the feed fingers.

E to grip the sheets, but not enough to strip the sheets from the feed fingers on the backward movement thereof.

rlhe machine preferably comprises a hopper l in which the lowermost sheets are rdapted to be successively separated from hoseabove them by suitable mecha ism il o be engaged by fingers o1 on the i E@ E and fed from the hopper' at s reciprocations of the feed rThe neppl comprises two side pieces or plates e const tuting lateral gui@ s i r the side edges he sheets of metal. the tops of he plates hayinga depending e "zo at about its middle stitutes a` guide for t sheets of metal.

- rested to 'the crossed sheets o t' are pro-ri- "i ybi 53 Y noenceo fplatesfinay be adjusted and the amount of sag of the sheets of metal in the hopper thereby regulated.

The separating mechanism preferably comprises a vacuum cup or sticker y' carried by a reciprocatory cross-hcad jl actuated by an eccentric jz receiving motion from a drive shaft D1 through a suitable train of gears y'2 j j?. The suction is produced in the vacuum cup y' by means of a suitable vacuum pump j? driven from the shaft D1 and connected to the vacuum cup by means of a 'flexible tube rEhe vacuum may be broken by the uncovering of a port j? by the piston of the pump at about the time the finger 61 on the feed bars engages the separated sheet,- and thusrelease the sheet from the action of the vacuum cup.

With the present feed, it is desirable to lift the horn during the feeding of the sheets in order that the sheets may not be stripped from thefeed finger El by the under side' of the horn. For this purpose the horn is mounted upon a slide g Working in suitable guides upon o-ne side of a 4bridge piece L spanning the central part of the ina-- chine, and is normally pressed downward by a strong spring g1 mounted in a suitable part g2 connected to the bridge L. The slide y is preferably provided .with an arm g5 extending across the bridge piece and is adapted to be engaged b v a slide 7 Working in suitable guides upon the other side of the die piece and carrying presser feet f1 ienne; part of a suitable mechanism, as,y

nce the Hangs forming mechanism e slide ,f receives its motion from the ft through suitable mechanism,

as i stance the tr in links and levers d the f en the drive e slide f/ carrying th lift enthe s`ide are arm g3 A the top of t l) if litt liti

noanoao "lhe pressure of the strip g upon the sheet is not however sucient to cause it. to strip the sheet from the feed fingers as the feed ngers draw the sheet rearwardly against the stops H3. The end gf of the strip g is preferably rounded to facilitate entrance of the sheets of metal beneath the same.

The upper side of the table or bench A is rovided at each side with transversely adjustable plates M M. These plates are adjustable by means of hand wheels and feed screws at at each side of the machine. Parts of the mechanisms F1 and F 2 are carried by these side plates M and are adjustable there' with to adapt the mechanisms to worlt upon sheets of diderent widths. 'lhe plates z' of the hopper mechanism' l are attached as at m2 to the ends of the side plates M. By

i this construction the hopper as well as the dll? mechanisms F1 and F2 may be simultaneously adjusted to receive and worlr upon blanks of different widths.

lhe operation of the machine is as follows :--A sheet of metal in the bottom of the hopper l is engaged by the vacuum cup F and bent down in its middle. 'llhe feed bar which is at this time in its rear position moves forwardly and the projections b1 thereon engage the upper edge of the sheet of metal and feed it from the hopper. The

vacuum is brokenv at about the same time that the sheet is engaged by the hngersbl of the feed bar, thus releasing the hold of t-he vacuum cup upon the sheets. After being fed out ofthe' hopper, it vis engaged at a succeeding reciprocation of the feed bar by the grip lingers E. 'llhese hngers exert a positive hold or gripupon the sheet, and carry the sheet back with them on their rearward movement against the stopsll1 which strip the sheets from the grip fingers at` a certain and definite position with respect to the notching mechanism F1. The sheet is notched while at rest in this position. From the notching mechanism the sheet is fed forward to the .flanging mechanism F2,

(through an idle position if desired) being gripped by grip lingers E and stripped by stops H2 at a fixed and definite took place with 'respect -to the notching mechanism. The sheets are flanged while at rest by the ilangingmechanism, and are engaged by the other grip hngers lEl at al succeeding reciprocation of the feed bar and fed to the body forming mechanism F3. 'As the sheet is fed from the nHanging mechanism F2 to vthe body forming mechanism F, the horn G is lifted so as to` permit the sheet to pass thereunder and be drawn rearwardly by the grip fingers against the `stops lf3 which strip lthem from the grip fingers, and at a fixed and :definite position beneath the horn. llVhile the sheet is 'fed beneath the horn it is--Kheldv against displacement by the strip g on the under side'of the horn which position, as

ffm

bears lightly against the upper side of the sheet. The horn thereupon descends upon the sheet and holds itrmly in placebllhe sheet is then bent around the horn and its Hanged sides interlocked and joined in a well known manner. The sheets which are now in the form of can bodies may be removed from the horn in any suitable manner. Successive sheets follow the same course through the machine.

Vlhat is claimed is 1. ln sheet metal working machines, the combination of reciprocatory feeding means adapted to positively grip and advance a sheet of metal, and means for stripping said sheets from the positive grip of said feeding means upon the backward movement of 'said feeding means.

2. ln sheet metal working machines, the combination of reciprocatory feed fingers adapted to positively grip and advance a sheet of metal, and stops adapted -to strip said sheets from the positive grip of said feed fingers upon the backward movement of said fingers.

3. ln sheet metal working machines, the combination of mechanism adapted to operate upon sheets of metal, a reciprocatory feed bar, fingers thereon adapted to positively grip the sheet of metal and advance it to said mechanism, and means forstripping said sheets from the' positive grip of saidv ngers at a definite position with lrespect to said mechanism upon the backward movement of said ngers.

d. ln sheet metal working machines, the combination of a hopper having bottom plates constitutin a bottom support for the sheets of metal 1n the hopper, said plates being' adjustable on said hopper transversely toward and away from one another, whereby the amount of sag ofthe sheets between the supported ends thereof may be regulated..

5. lin sheet metal working machines, the combination of a hopper comprising side plates and adjustable guides for the front and rear edges of the pile of sheets, and bottom plates constituting a bottom support for the sheets of metal inthe hopper, said bottom plates being adjustable independently of the side plates transversely toward and away from one another, whereby the amount of sag of the sheets between the supported ends thereof may be regulated.

6. ln sheetmetal working machines, the combination of transversely adjustable sideplates between which sheets of metal are to be fedyand a hopper, said hopper having side plates mounted upon and adjustable with said first-mentioned side-plates- 7. lin sheet metal working machines, the combination of transversely adjustable sideplates between which sheets of metal are to be fed and adapted to support parts of bfi ldd

ldd

i io

'wardly a portion of a sheet of metal contained in the bottom of the hopper, and a re ciprocatory feed bar adapted to engage said downwardly bent portion of said sheet while said sheet is in the hopper and feed the same als out of said hopper. v

9. In sheet metal working machines, the combination ofl a hopper having bottom plates constituting a bottom-support for the sheets of metal in the hopper, said bottom plates being adjustable transversely toward and away vfrom one another, whereby the amount of sag of the sheets between the supportd ends thereof may be regulated, a. vertical y movable suction cup adapted to move against and bend downwardly a portion of a sheet of metal contained in the bottom of the hopper, and aprecipro'catony feedbar adapted to engage said downwardly bent portion of said sheet Whilesaid sheet is in the hopper and feed the same out of said hopper.

10. In sheet metalworking machines, the ycombination of a horn 'adapted to press down and hold a sheet ofmetal in place be.- neath the same, means for raising said horn to permit sheets of met-al to be fed beneath` the same, and means attached to said horn for lightly pressing against sheets of metal while the horn is lifted. y

11.v In sheet metal working machines, the combination of reciprocatory feeding means adapted to grip and advance a sheet of metal, meansfor stripping said sheets from said feeding means upon the backward said hopper having side-platesa vertically movable suction cup vmovement of said feeding means, anda horn adapted to b e lifted during the feeding of the sheets. 4

12. In sheetl meta-l working machines, the

adapted to Agrip and advance a sheet of metal, means for stripping said sheets from said feedingmeans' upon the backward movement of said feeding means, a lhorn adapted to be lifted during the feeding of Vthe sheets,\ and means Vlightly pressing against the sheets to hold them in place during the lifting of the horn.

13. In sheet metal working machines, the combination of presser feet adapted to press and hold sheets of metal in position to be worked upon, a horn adapted to be raised and lowered, and adapted to press down and holdy a sheet of metal in place beneath the same, means adapted to operate said kpresser feet, and connections between said presser foot operating means and horn for communicating motion to said horn.

14. In sheet met-al working machines, the

combination of presser feet. adapted to press and hold sheets of metal in position to be worked upon, a horn adapted to be raised andl lowered, and adapted to press down and hold a sheet of metal in place beneath the same, means adapted to operate said presser feet, and lconnections between said presser foot operating means and horn for communicating motion to said horn, said connech tions being adjustable for determining the amount of motion transmitted to said horn.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed combination of reciprocatory feeding-means my name in the presence of two subscribingy witnesses.

y PETER KRUSE.

Witnesses E. A. MAIN, C. T. ZIEGLnR. 

